Introduction
Our impact extends beyond our platforms—it is multiplied by the civic leaders who grow through working with us. Individuals in our partners’ pro bono teams and Civic Consulting Alliance’s staff work closely with high-level public and private sector officials to form a deep understanding of the most important issues of the day and develop plans to address them. Because of our unique scope and access, we are an incubator for Chicago’s next generation of civic leaders.
This is more than valuable experience—it often inspires a lifelong passion for service that impacts Chicago long past the end of an individual project. Civic Consulting Alliance alumni go on to get big things done across the public, private, and social sectors.
A Note of Gratitude from Outgoing CEO Brian Fabes
After 15 years serving as CEO of Civic Consulting Alliance, Brian Fabes was succeeded in March 2020 by Rebekah Scheinfeld.
It is hard to believe that less than a year has passed since I stepped down as CEO of Civic Consulting Alliance. So much has happened in our world and so much has happened at Civic Consulting Alliance since then. Rebekah, the team, and numerous partners have played a central role in supporting multiple COVID-19 response and recovery efforts, while continuing to advance critical work in education, economic vitality, and public safety and criminal justice. I am tremendously proud to have helped build the organization and team that is Civic Consulting Alliance today.
As I reflected on nearly 15 years at Civic Consulting Alliance earlier in the year, one emotion overrode all else: gratitude. It was (and still is) hard to express how grateful I am to our partners, clients, staff, funders, and others who have been part of my Civic Consulting Alliance journey.
Thank you for trusting us with your time, your talent, your ideas, and your funds. You made Civic Consulting Alliance an inspiring example of what working together for the common good can be.
Early on in my time at Civic Consulting Alliance, we set an ambitious vision for our future. While pro bono projects for public and social sector clients would be how we work, our overarching goal would be to drive societal change—working on big issues over the long-term, bringing in the right partners at the right time to create lasting, positive change. The idea worked—better than I think we imagined—because of the extraordinary commitment of Chicago’s residents and leaders. Given a bold goal to improve quality of life in our region, and a credible path to achieve that goal, I saw time and again Chicagoans jump in to achieve what no one firm or sector could achieve on its own.
Along the way, I learned countless lessons, but one above all stood out early in 2020, and seems even more important today: we need effective, legitimate institutions—in particular public institutions—for our democracy and our region to succeed. We need a criminal justice system that is just. We need a public education system that prepares students for life and provides meaningful pathways to opportunity. We need public and private collaborations that enable equitable investment and inclusive economic growth. I hope as leaders we can increase our focus on the need to create more accountable, inclusive, collaborative, and—therefore—effective institutions. I know that Civic Consulting Alliance will continue to lead the way. Indeed, over the course of 2020, Civic Consulting has been doing this work in new and inspiring ways.
I could not be more proud of the impact Civic Consulting Alliance had while I was privileged to be part of the team, and I have been thrilled to see the many ways Civic Consulting Alliance has stepped up to meet the challenges of 2020 under Rebekah’s leadership. Congratulations to Rebekah, the team, and partners in advance, on what I know will be many more successes in the years to come.
Onward!
Sincerely,
Brian Fabes
Former CEO, Civic Consulting Alliance
Managing Director, Corporate Coalition of Chicago
Incubating Civic Leaders
At Civic Consulting Alliance, we bring together and develop leaders across all sectors to get big things done for Chicago. Our impact extends beyond the outcomes of our projects—it is multiplied by the leaders who grow by working with us. Our staff alumni include:
Christina Anderson
Deputy Commissioner, COVID Response Bureau
City of Chicago Department of Public Health
Elaine Armstrong
Assistant Director
Crowe
Brian Battle
Chief Finance and Operations Officer
The Handy Kenlin Group
Christopher Bordoni
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Bordoni & Company
Paul Bourdillon
Internal Medicine Resident
University of Washington
Erica Bredle
Ann Bruton
Senior Associate
Centre for Public Impact
Kelsey Burr
Financial Market Utilities Supervision and Regulation
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
Joanna Cannizzaro JD
Ernesto Castelnuovo
Senior Vice President and Head of Specialized Risk Group
TransUnion
Lincoln Chandler
Founder and President
Chandler Decision Services, LLC
Hilton Clark
Julia Clemons
Program Analyst
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Andrea Clinton
MBA Candidate
Chicago Booth
Celia Cockfield
Senior Associate
The Annie E. Casey Foundation
Tracy Cohen
Michael Collins
MPA Candidate and Census Training and Engagement Coordinator
University of Illinois at Chicago
Daniel Comeaux
Associate Transportation Policy Analyst
Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning
Liz Coon
Engagement Manager
McKinsey & Company
Karen Corken
Vice President and Chief Operations Officer
JCFS Chicago
Gillian Darlow
Chief Executive Officer
Polk Bros. Foundation
Christian Hines
Law Clerk at U.S. District Court
Southern District of New York
Alfonso de Hoyos y Acosta
Consulting Director
Gartner
Stephanie Dolan
Independent Consultant
Alexandra Dumitriu
Bank Supervision
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
Carol Elder
Independent Consultant
Carla Esteva
Vice President Supply Chain Effectiveness
US Foods
Brian Fabes
Managing Director
Corporate Coalition of Chicago
Rose Fealy
Vice President - Finance and Administration / Chief Financial Officer
Museum of Science and Industry
Hannah Fine
Assistant Director of Alumni Relations
University of Chicago Law School
Damien Flynn
President and Chief Executive Officer
ACTS-Aviation Security
Kim Forte
Global Sales Leader
Amazon Web Services
Janet Froetscher
President
J.B. and M.K. Pritzker Family Foundation
Christian Gallegos
Shoham Geva
Political Data Analyst
America Votes
Leslie Glotzer
MBA Candidate
Chicago Booth
Malika Graham-Bailey
Director of Operations
Duke University Talent Identification Program
Helen Hailes
PhD Candidate in Counseling Psychology
Boston College Lynch School
Melanie Halvorson
Managing Director of Community Planning and Allocations
Jewish Federation of Cleveland
Melissa Hamann
President and Chief Executive Officer
Promise Schools
Michael Hanowsky
Director and Practice Lead - Data Analytics
Woolpert Strategic Consulting
Danielle Harbison
Executive Director
Black Chicago Tomorrow (BCT)
Valerie Hegarty
Stuart Henige
Senior Manager, MassHealth Premium Assistance
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Wallace Hilke
Judicial Law Clerk
United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois
Brock Huebner
JD Candidate
Stanford Law School
Shruti Jayaraman
Chief Information Officer
Chicago Beyond
Jeff Kilpatrick
Managing Director
Kaufman Hall
Constance Kresge
Consultant, Chief of Staff
Virtual Chief of Staff Service
Allyson Laackman
Chief Strategy and Financial Officer
National Conference on Citizenship
Donald Laackman
Chief Program Officer
Heartland Alliance
Sue Lawler, PhD, CPA, MBA
Workforce Employer Consultant
Ivy Tech Community College
Samuel Leiter
PhD Candidate, Political Science
MIT
Frank Lin
Alison Lo
Associate
Boies Schiller Flexner LLP
Phyllis Lockett
Founder and CEO
LEAP Innovations
Constance McHugh Long
Management Consultant
Independent School Management
Rasmus Lynnerup
Assistant Vice Provost
Arizona State University
Cathrine Lynnerup
Owner
Pontomos
Charles McCartney
Associate
McKinsey & Company
Nell McKitrick
Director of Operations
Lurie Children's Hospital Center for Childhood Resilience
Tom McKone
Chief Administrative Officer
Chicago Transit Authority
Jessica McMiller-Baptiste
COVID-19 Policy and Partnerships Manager
City of Philadelphia - Department of Public Health
N'Gai Merrill
Chief Operating Officer
Triangle Package Machinery Co.
Michael Modak-Truran
President and Chief Executive Officer
Coffee House Films, Inc.
Lynne Moore
Court Administrator, Magistrate Court
Fulton County Government
Lydia Murray
Senior Manager
Deloitte
Kevin Nigarura
DEI Strategist
Justice Informed
Robert Owens
Chief Performance Analyst for Public Safety
City of Chicago Office of Inspector General
Zarina Parpia
Independent Consultant
Parpia Consulting
Avani Patel
Senior Manager, Innovation
Allstate
Skylar Patterson
Project Manager
City of Chicago Mayor's Office BEND Team
Eric Patton
Dejah Powell
Midwest Lead Organizer
Sunrise Movement
Patrick Quinn
Supervisor
McMaster-Carr
Daniel Reisner
Member Board of Advisors
BreadCrumb, LLC
Christine Richardson
Administrative Director
CarboEvolution LLC
Kelly Ruppel
Chief Finance Officer
Madison Metropolital School District
Sally Park
Managing Director
Changing Our World, Inc.
Andrew Schwarm
Senior Consultant, Strategy and Analytics
Deloitte
Steven Shaw
Community Engagement Director - State Government Affairs
Verizon
Alexander Shermansong
Chief Executive Officer
Civic Consulting USA
Pranav Sidhwani
Director, Commercial Advisory and Strategy
Infrastructure Ontario
Stacia Smith
Owner and President
Seabrook Smith
Haley Sonenthal
MBA Candidate
Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management
Alex Spacht
MD Candidate
University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine
Gary Spiece
Senior Project Manager
Chicago Transit Authority
Suzy Stock
Daniel Thiel
Associate
Virens & Partners
Jessica Thiesen
Global Solutions Advisor
FourKites, Inc.
Meosha Thomas
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
One Savvy Veteran
Yen-Li Thompson
Business Operations Manager CoverWallet
Elikem Tomety
Chief Program Officer
Global Citizen Year
Susan Tompkins
Business Strategy Consultant
Carmen Tomshack
Donor Relations Manager
Bellevue Schools Foundation
Marie Trzupek Lynch
Founding President and Chief Executive Officer
Skills for Chicagoland's Future
Traci Udofia
Kristen Uyemura
Principal
BCG
Asheley Van Ness
Director of Criminal Justice
Arnold Ventures
Aliza Warwick
Lead, China Safety Operations
Airbnb
Owen Washburn
Vice President, Global Philanthropy
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Sara Wasserteil
Managing Director of Expansion and Integration
Cara Chicago
Dominique Williams
Senior Development Officer
Local Initiatives Support Corporation
Kirstin Williams Smith
Educational Consultant
Reading in Motion
Marisa Lewis
Board Liaison
Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership
Stay in Touch
We love to hear from our alumni. Has your employer, job title, or name changed? Have you recently celebrated a professional accomplishment you’d like us to highlight on Civic Consulting Alliance’s LinkedIn page as part of our Alumni Spotlight series? Contact us below.